Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1749 Using Water to Attack Sand!

Upon hearing Gao Congwen's story, Zhao Wanxian tossed the ornament he was holding to Gao Congwen and said:

Do you know what this is?

Gao Congwen took the ornament from Zhao Wanxian and examined it carefully.
This ornament is made entirely of iron, a rectangular prism that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. It is about three inches long, two inches wide, and about one inch thick. Gao Congwen looked at it from all angles, but he still couldn't figure it out.

Unable to identify what it was, Gao Congwen could only put it down and then explain it to Zhao Wanxian in detail:
"My lord, I really can't figure out what this is!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanxian raised an eyebrow and said:

"Don't you think it looks a lot like a dam?"

"Dyke?"

"To be precise, it's a model of a dam!"

Gao Congwen stared in shock at the object in his hand. If Zhao Wanxian hadn't told him it was a model of a dam, he would have really thought it was some kind of ornament by Zhao Wanxian. But after Zhao Wanxian's reminder, he realized that from the side, it really did look a bit like a dam.

Just as Gao Congwen was carefully examining the model, Zhao Wanxian spoke up again:
Have you ever heard of using water to attack sand?

Upon hearing Zhao Wanxian ask this, Gao Congwen was momentarily stunned, but after carefully searching his mind, he replied:
"I seem to vaguely remember this! It looks like a method used to control the De River a hundred years ago! I don't remember it very clearly, but I've heard that this method of constricting water to attack sand is different from traditional water control methods. It's said to use the De River's own power to control it..."

Upon hearing Gao Congwen's description, Zhao Wanxian smiled and nodded, saying:
"I've long heard that you, Brother Gao, are erudite and have an amazing memory. Seeing you today, I can confirm it's true!"

Gao Congwen was somewhat pleased with Zhao Wanxian's praise, but as a traditional official, he did not show it on the surface. Instead, he was very humble and did not forget to flatter Zhao Wanxian at the end, saying that Zhao Wanxian was the one who was truly learned.

After exchanging compliments, Zhao Wanxian changed the subject and said:

"Brother Gao, what do you think about reusing the method of constricting water to attack sand in flood control?"

Gao Congwen was able to become the Deputy Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan, so he must have been a very intelligent person. Judging from Zhao Wanxian's words just now, the reason why Zhao Wanxian has not been working in the government office these days is very likely because he is working on the matter of constricting water to attack sand.

Thinking of this, Gao Congwen also secretly observed Zhao Wanxian's expression. Although Zhao Wanxian looked rather calm at the moment, Gao Congwen could sense a sense of confidence between his brows for some reason.

After pondering for a moment, Gao Congwen replied:

"The core principle of 'constricting water to combat silt' is to build dikes to tighten the river channel, increasing the water flow speed and impact force. This uses water power to flush away the silt from the riverbed. The high-speed water flow enhances the silt-carrying capacity, flushing the accumulated silt downstream or to the estuary, reducing riverbed deposition, and thus solving the problems of riverbed elevation and flooding caused by siltation..."

"This method initially achieved good results. By constructing a dual dike system of narrow dikes to confine the water and remote dikes to prevent flooding, Pan Jixun basically stabilized the downstream channel of the De River, greatly reducing the risk of breaches and overflows!"
"However, this method is not foolproof. At that time, temperatures plummeted, extreme weather events occurred frequently, the north experienced drought and little rain, while the south was plagued by torrential rains. The drought caused a large amount of vegetation to wither and die in the upper reaches of the De River." The Loess Plateau lost a significant amount of sediment, and the De River's flow during the dry season was insufficient to wash away the sediment. During the flood season, flood diversion and dike protection were necessary, making it difficult to maintain a sustained scouring force. Therefore, sediment accumulation was still unavoidable!

"In addition, the method of using water to scour the sand has a major drawback: it only targets the siltation in the lower reaches of the De River, but the vast majority of the silt comes from the middle and upper reaches. The forced scouring in the lower reaches can only provide temporary relief, while the continuous input of silt from the upper reaches leads to 'scouring in the front and silting in the back,' causing the De River channel to rise continuously!"

Hearing Gao Congwen's account, Zhao Wanxian couldn't help but applaud sincerely and praise him:

"Brother Gao, I never knew you knew so much!"

Gao Congwen humbly said:

“My father used to work in the Da Zhou River Management Office, where he worked on the river for twenty years. He originally wanted me to follow in his footsteps, so he taught me about water management from a young age. Unfortunately, I only learned a little bit!”

Zhao Wanxian nodded slightly upon hearing this and then said:

"The imperial court at that time was incompetent and corrupt, natural disasters and man-made calamities were constant, and all sorts of problems kept piling up. Everyone was fighting for power and profit, so who had the mind to care about water conservancy? As a result, these water conservancy dikes were gradually abandoned, and eventually the dikes breached many times, causing heavy losses to the people..."

Hearing the implication in Zhao Wanxian's words, Gao Congwen cut to the chase and asked directly:

"Does the master mean to use the method of constricting water to attack sand to control the De River?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wanxian didn't hide his thoughts and nodded directly:

"That's right! I'm going to use the method of constricting water to attack sand to control the De River!"

"The De River is the mother river of Hebei and Henan. Its waters nourish the farmland on both banks, enabling the people of Hebei and Henan to live a life of plenty and self-sufficiency. However, the De River is also a sword hanging over the heads of the people of Hebei and Henan. If it breaches its banks, the people along the river will suffer great misfortune, and countless people and property will be lost!"

"Therefore, for me, as the Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan, how to manage the De River is the most important thing!"

At this point, Zhao Wanxian said with some self-reproach:

"In the past few years, the heavens have been kind to us, with favorable weather ensuring everyone had enough to eat, and Deshui was very peaceful. I was somewhat careless and overlooked the dangers of floods." "That's why this year's flood season brought torrential rains, causing the river to swell and the dikes to breach, resulting in so many deaths and injuries. Countless people's hard work and efforts have been in vain. Therefore, as the provincial governor, I have failed in my duty!"

Gao Congwen was somewhat surprised to hear Zhao Wanxian say this.

Although he had only recently been promoted to Deputy Provincial Governor, he had heard of Zhao Wanxian, a favorite of the Emperor, when he was serving in Anqing. When Zhao Wanxian was the Provincial Governor of Liaoyang, there were many voices of doubt in the court and among the people, but the Emperor overruled the objections and promoted him. Zhao Wanxian lived up to expectations and did a very good job in Liaoyuan. Eventually, he was transferred to the important region of Jiyu to serve as Provincial Governor.

At less than forty years old, Zhao Wanxian was arguably one of the youngest regional officials in the entire Great Qian Dynasty. Such an honor was a source of immense pride and envy, and rumors even circulated that he would one day join the Grand Secretariat and become the Chief Grand Secretary…
Perhaps for this reason, Zhao Wanxian was usually proud, even somewhat arrogant. In their usual work interactions, Gao Congwen always had the impression that Zhao Wanxian was somewhat domineering. This was the first time Gao Congwen had seen such an expression on Zhao Wanxian's face.

However, before Gao Congwen could be surprised for long, Zhao Wanxian regained his composure and said:

"This flood has taught me a lesson, making me fully aware of the dangers of the De River. I have been looking for ways to manage the De River. After communicating and discussing with the river management department, I think that the method of constricting water to attack sand, although flawed, is the best way to manage the De River at present!"

After hearing this, Gao Congwen hesitated for a moment and then asked:

"Sir, what do you intend to do?"

"The first thing is to plant trees!"

Gao Congwen looked at Zhao Wanxian with a somewhat surprised expression. Zhao Wanxian had said so much, and he thought that Zhao Wanxian had some profound ideas and wanted to carry out some big project. He did not expect that Zhao Wanxian would say that he wanted to plant trees. What does this kind of tree have to do with the management of Deshui?

Although Gao Congwen was shrewd and didn't voice the question in front of Zhao Wanxian, seeing his astonished expression, Zhao Wanxian knew exactly what he was thinking and quickly explained:

"The biggest problem with the De River is that too much silt has been deposited on the riverbed, raising it. The root cause is the severe soil erosion on the Loess Plateau..."

"So if we want to address the root causes of the De River problem, we need to plant trees on the Loess Plateau to reduce soil erosion! Only when soil erosion on the Loess Plateau is reduced will there be less soil downstream. Otherwise, treating only the downstream areas will only be a temporary solution!"

Hearing Zhao Wanxian's words, Gao Congwen's expression changed from initial astonishment to seriousness. To be honest, he had never thought about it in this way before, but after Zhao Wanxian said this, he thought about it carefully and felt that what Zhao Wanxian said seemed to make some sense. Indeed, if less soil was washed away upstream, there would naturally be less silt downstream. Otherwise, if only the downstream was treated and not the upstream, the effect would definitely not be very good.

However, upon closer examination, Gao Congwen discovered a very important issue, and immediately spoke up:

"Sir, the upper reaches of the De River are in Guanzhong and Yongliang. That area is not under our jurisdiction!"

Zhao Wanxian nodded upon hearing this:
“You’re right, that area isn’t under my jurisdiction, which is precisely why His Majesty needs to issue an order to coordinate!”

"His Majesty's visit this time is a very good opportunity. His Majesty is a wise and virtuous ruler, and he will surely consider the well-being of the people of Hebei and Henan!"

Hearing Zhao Wanxian's unwavering faith in Ye Mingsheng, Gao Congwen hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Sir, your method of planting trees on the Loess Plateau to reduce soil erosion is good, but planting trees is not something that can be done overnight. Do you have any other methods to control water?"

Zhao Wanxian waved his hand confidently and said:
"These past few days I've been discussing with officials from the river management department. Pan Jixun's main approach to river management was using dikes and temporary embankments..."

“The embankment is close to the river channel and closest to the riverbank, which restricts the flow of small and medium-sized water: by narrowing the river channel, the flow velocity is increased and the water is used to flush away the silt in the riverbed.”

"The dike is mainly used to defend against ordinary floods, but it is too low. It is ineffective against larger floods and is easily overflowed or destroyed by them!"

"As for the remote dike, it is built outside the main dike and is farther from the riverbank. To prevent major floods, its dike body is higher and stronger, and its design standards far exceed those of the main dike. When the main dike is overflowed or destroyed by floods, the remote dike serves as a second line of defense to intercept the flood, prevent flooding and disaster, and protect the safety of towns, farmland and people's lives and property in the rear."
"The area between the remote dike and the continuous dike is a flood storage and detention area, where farming is permitted but construction is prohibited!"

"During the later stages of Pan Jixun's water-controlling and sand-fighting efforts, he built dikes that stretched for over 600 li. However, the dikes still breached multiple times. One of the main reasons for this was that the soil structure of the dikes was extremely prone to collapse under the impact of floods. Once the dikes collapsed, the river was forced to retreat to the outer dikes, the original river channel quickly silted up, the riverbed rose, and the outer dikes bore a lot of pressure. In the end, breaches were inevitable!"

"But things are different now! Pan Jixun could only use earth and wood, but we now have steel and cement. We can build dams entirely with steel and cement, making the dams far stronger and more durable than those made of earth and wood..."

If an ordinary person were standing here, they might be completely confused and not know what this thing called cement is.

However, as the deputy provincial governor in charge of the industry of Hebei and Henan, Gao Congwen had come into contact with many cutting-edge industrial products of the era. Three months ago, he had seen cement at the Second Manufacturing Bureau in Yijing. In the past month, he had been busy negotiating with the Second Manufacturing Bureau, discussing with local Hebei and Henan merchants that one would provide technology and the other would provide money to open a cement plant on the outskirts of Yujing.

Gao Congwen knew very well that cement had strong compressive strength, good water resistance, and strong corrosion resistance. Houses built with cement were more sturdy, durable, and had a longer service life. This was why he liked cement very much as soon as he saw it and wanted to open a cement plant in Hebei and Henan.

At that time, Gao Congwen was convinced that cement had a promising future and would definitely sell well throughout the Daqian region. Therefore, as the deputy provincial governor in charge of industry in Hebei and Henan, he took time out of his busy schedule to personally connect the Second Manufacturing Bureau with local merchants in Hebei and Henan.

However, Gao Congwen only wanted to build houses with cement at the time and did not think of using cement to pour dams. Zhao Wanxian's words opened up new ideas for him.

Although he had never thought of it this way before, following Zhao Wanxian's train of thought, Gao Congwen felt more and more that cement was a good material for building dams.

One of the main characteristics of cement is its good water resistance and strong corrosion resistance. These characteristics can be used to build dams. Dams made of earth and wood are prone to problems under the erosion of floods over the years, while dams made of cement will undoubtedly have a longer service life.

Thinking this, Gao Congwen's eyes grew brighter and brighter; he was even eager to test this new idea...